Scott Listfield

The art world takes itself too seriously.

I originally started using humor in my work as a reaction to that. The more I did it, the more I realized that there is no need to restrict ourselves to one or two emotions when making art. The world is a complex place. Things are often sad, but they're also ridiculous, funny, exciting, maddening... Why not try to capture as much of that as I can?

My paintings are also a lot about looking at the world we live in like it's the first time you've seen it. The astronaut I paint carries this lightly suggested message. That's why you can see lots of signs like Mc Donald's, Starbuck's or Pizza Hut in my work. This repeating loop of signs is our modern landscape, it's what the world looks like to me. I wanted it to be a big part of the world my astronaut inhabits.

I think some people see my work as an indictment of the world we live in now, and that's maybe partially true. But I think there's a lot of amazing things around us that we take for granted just because they're a part of our everyday lives. Ultimately, I'd like people to look at my paintings and walk away with whatever it is that resonates with them. Maybe it makes them look at their world a little bit differently, or maybe they just think "Dude, Boba Fett.". Either way is cool with me!